Dads may suffer postpartum depression too

Women are not alone in suffering postpartum depression - a
"strikingly high" number of new fathers are affected as well,
researchers has reported.

In a study of more than 5,000 US couples that had recently had a
baby, 14 percent of mothers and 10 percent of fathers were found to
have significant levels of depression.

The percentage of affected women was in the expected range based
on past research, but little has been known about fathers' risk of
depression after the birth of a child.

The 10-percent rate in the current study is substantial,
according to the researchers, being more than twice the rate seen
among the general US population of men.

Most people, including health professionals, don't even think of
fathers as having postpartum depression, said lead study author Dr
James F. Paulson, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Eastern
Virginia Medical School in Norfolk.

This study may help raise public awareness of the problem, he
said.

The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, are
based on data from a national study examining early childhood
development. Paulson and his colleagues used interview and survey
data from 5,089 couples with a nine-month-old infant.

One of the surveys measured parents' depression symptoms, with
scores above a certain threshold being suggestive of
depression.

In general, the study found, mothers who scored above this
threshold reported less interaction with their babies - reading to
them or playing games less often than non-depressed mothers did.
Depressed moms were also less likely to breastfeed or put their
babies to sleep on their backs, both important recommendations for
infant health.

Depressed fathers reported less play with their infants as well.
And women whose husbands were depressed read to their baby less
often than other mothers did - pointing to the potential effects a
spouse's depression can have on the other parent.

Singing, reading and playing with an infant are "very important
interactions" necessary for early development, Paulson pointed out.
So identifying postpartum depression - in either parent - is
important for parents and children alike, he said.

However, despite the growing awareness of postpartum depression
among women, new mothers are not routinely screened for it, and
experts believe many cases go unrecognised.

It's even less likely that a father's depression would be
noticed, Paulson said.

He recommended that parents be aware of "clues" that they or
their spouse are experiencing more than the normal fatigue and
stress that comes with caring for an infant.

"Any parent is going to feel fatigued or stressed sometimes,"
Paulson said. But they shouldn't feel that way all the time, he
added; parents who feel tired, down or otherwise not themselves for
two weeks or more may need to speak with their doctor.

Symptoms of that duration, Paulson said, "are a key warning that
it's more than just a normal reaction to stress."